Laval paid $3,334.61 to Laval-des-Rapides councillor Pierre Anthian on January 22.

The figure covered reimbursements for research expenses costs originally denied by the city and reported on in the Suburban last April.

This is a great relief after a year of sacrifices for my family and wrestling with the City,” said Anthian. “I have always believed that a judge would be more discerning than officials could be when they act as both judge and interested party [since they are responsible for saving the city money].”

Anthian took the city to small claims court after bureaucrats refused to reimburse him for costs related to distribution and printing of press releases and 10,000 flyers sent to citizens so that he could inform them about water breakdowns, gas leaks, smog alerts and traffic hold-ups in their area.

It also covered court costs and interest.

Anthian says that bureaucrats were biased against his claim because of his decisions to pay homeless people to clear snow and for his desire to see the city adopt dynamic intelligent parking.

These two issues annoyed the leadership of the city so senior officials could no longer decide fairly,” he said. “A neutral mediator has enough experience and judgment to avoid being blinded by emotion.”

Anthian is happy that the courts have forced the city to pay him and hopes his experience will encourage elected officials to question bureaucrats more often.

This judgement gives me a double victory as Mayor Demers has a blind trust in officials and lets them do whatever they choose without ever putting their actions into question.”

Elected officials questioning bureaucrats should not be seen as a public display of distrust, says Anthian. It should be seen as asking for a second opinion to make sure that nothing was missed in the initial analysis.

Note: This article was published on page 1 of the Laval edition of the Suburban yesterday.

About

Tracey Arial

Unapologetically Canadian Tracey Arial promotes creative entrepreneurship as an author, cooperative business leader, gardener, family historian and podcaster.

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